The Paintbrush Canyon Trail is part of the Teton Crest Trail, which spans the southern section of the Teton Range from Teton Pass along Wyoming Highway 22 to String Lake, a total distance of 39 miles (63 km). Due to the trails popularity, permits for the campsites along the Teton Crest. An ice axe may be necessary for hikes in the early summer. Views from Paintbrush Divide include Lake Solitude (which is also passed on the circuit hike) and of Mount Moran to the north and the Cathedral Group including Grand Teton to the south. Popular with hikers, the canyon is part of a popular circuit hike of 19.2 miles (30.9 km) which is rated as very strenuous and includes a total elevation change of 3,845 feet (1,172 m) due to the ascent to Paintbrush Divide 10,720 feet (3,270 m). Leigh Lake is at the base of the canyon to the east and the alpine Holly Lake is located mid canyon. The canyon lies between Rockchuck Peak and Mount Saint John to the south and Mount Woodring to the north. The canyon was formed by glaciers which retreated at the end of the last glacial maximum approximately 15,000 years ago. Paintbrush Canyon is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U. Leigh Canyon and the southern slope of Mount Moran are at right Sunset Lake is about three miles north of Mount Meek Pass, and the length of the Teton Crest Trail that passes through Alaska Basin is approximately five miles.Mount Saint John and Rockchuck Peak at left flank Paintbrush Canyon as does Mount Woodring at center. This particular site is the first one you encounter as you descend to the lake from the south, and it is elevated slightly above the lake offering views of the tip of the Grand Teton and to the TCT trail that wends its way up toward Hurricane Pass. Despite having covered almost 13 miles, we were able to arrive early enough at Sunset Lake to score the best of the approximately ten unofficial tent pads there. The camping here would be pleasant, but we had our sights set on Sunset Lake about a mile farther north. The Basin Lakes area should have been called “Sierra Nevada Basin” with its glaciated, Sierra-like granite. We started to see a lot more people at Mount Meek Pass and in the basin, which was somewhat of an unpleasant shock to the system after being isolated from contact in the Middle Fork and Phillips Pass area. The descent into Basin Lakes of Alaska Basin was steep and hot on the Sheep Steps. Our prospects did not look good, but I somehow had the good fortune of getting backcountry bookings in the Middle / South Fork Granite Canyon zone (Night 1), Alaska Basin (Night 2), and the North Fork Cascade Canyon zone (Night 3). There were already 12 parties queued in front of me. After a week of obsessively checking the local webcams and air quality index reports and seeing a favorable trend, we decided the trip was a “go.” I left my house in south Denver at 12am and arrived at the Moose Visitor Center backcountry permit office at 6:30am.
The wildfire smoke that drifted in from California right as our trip was scheduled to start prompted us to forego our backcountry reservations – permits that were secured in the furious online stampede on seven months prior – and delay the trip by one week in hopes that the atmosphere would clear and that we could score walk-up permits at the key locations to support our four-day window. The best part of any backpacking trip is the time spent above the trees, so the experience of hiking so many miles through meadows with commanding vistas was for me confirmation of the TCT’s lofty reputation.
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